TOMOO GOKITA (JAPAN, B. 1969)

Japanese artist Tomoo Gokita's striking grayscale geometric paintings have become instantly recognizable. Precisely achieved with acrylic and gouache in a highly contrasted gradation of black and white retaining the palette of pencil, his choices recall his background in graphic illustration. Gokita had already developed an international reputation as a master draftsman, particularly in charcoal, before making the move to canvas painting.

The enigmatic title Auris Externa meaning "external ear" in Latin calls to mind Gokita's bemusing thoughts:
"The picture is in motion from the moment the eye turns into an ear. For whom? For what? I don't know. I wait for "silliness" which lurks behind a kind of fermented unconscious, such as the act of eating a picture or putting a paintbrush in one's ear"

By painting non-representational geometric shapes and strokes, the artist playfully explores the range of possibilities that arise from varying shades of black and white.